Goebbels signed a non-exclusive deal Manfred Eicher's ECM label in the mid-'80s. His debut, Der Mann Im Fahrstul, appeared in 1988. It was followed by Schliemanns Radio - 12 Protokolle in 1992 for the independent Der Hörverlag label. He returned to ECM with SHADOW/Landscape with Argonauts, with words by Edgar Allan Poe and Heiner Mueller, which appeared in 1993, as did La Jalousie/Red Run/Herakles 2/Befreiung, cut with Ensemble Modern. The three-disc Hörstücke, featuring recordings that took place between 1984 and 1990, saw release in 1995, as did the new work Ou Bien le Débarquement Désastreux. Black on White appeared from RCA Red Seal in 1997 and was the last work from Goebbels issued in the 20th century. Recordings of two his works have received Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Contemporary Composition.
In 2000, the debut of his first composition for symphony orchestra, Surrogate Cities, was released on ECM -- it had been completed in 1994. In 2002, Eislermaterial was released in collaboration with Ensemble Modern and Josef Bierbichler. Landschaft mit Entfernten Verwandten followed in 2007. In 2009, his Italian Concerto was released by another independent, I Dischi di Angelica/ReR Megacorp. Goebbels returned to ECM with Stifters Dinge in July of 2012, two months before he received the Ibsen Award from the Norwegian Government for pioneering work in musical theater. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi